India paid the price for its poor attacking display and erratic passing as it began with a 1-3 loss to Belgium in the FIH Pro League 2025-26 at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela on Wednesday.
In front of a packed house, the Indians found it difficult to get past a stubborn Belgian defence. With India having just four home matches this year, Wednesday’s outing was crucial to find the right momentum, but the host was guilty of being casual on the field.
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After an evenly-matched first quarter that saw both teams earning a penalty corner each, and having a few half chances, Thomas Crols latched on to a Harmanpreet Singh mispass in the 23rd minute. Crols ran past an almost absent defence to put Nelson Onana through and the latter slammed the ball home.
A PC in the 29th minute saw Amit Rohidas’ hit stopped by Guillaume Hellin’s stick. But the Belgian couldn’t control the ball, and Shilanand Lakra swooped in for a quick rebound to level the score. It raised hopes of a fightback, but the change of ends did not end India’s poor presence in the middle.
The Indian forwards were unable to connect inside the circle and kept shooting wide.
In the other half of the field, Crols got one for himself in the 53rd minute; he stepped just inside the circle and, with all the room in the world, delivered a reverse hit. Forced to go all out in search of the equaliser, India eventually let in a third, Arno Van Dessel sealing the win three minutes from time.
India avoided a bigger defeat courtesy the hard-working defence, marshalled by Rohidas, and some impressive saves by goalkeeper Pawan Malik. As it turned out, it wasn’t enough.
THE RESULT
Belgium 3 (Nelson Onana 23, Thomas Crols 53, Arno Van Dessel 57) bt India 1 (Shilanand Lakra 29-pc).
Published on Feb 11, 2026
